Islamic Republic of Iran found out soft war, adhered to AhlulBayt (a.s.) values
The 6th International Scientific Seminar of Arbaeen Pilgrimage was held by the Karbala Center for Studies and Research, with the cooperation of Iraqi institutions and universities on September 23 and 24, 2022 in Karbala.
The 6th International Arbaeen Pilgrimage Scientific Seminar was started by the Karbala Center for Studies and Research in cooperation with Iraqi institutions and universities.
The opening ceremony of the Seminar was held on the Friday morning, September 23, 2022, in the Khatam al-Anbiya Hall of the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussein (a.s.) in Karbala.
The theme of the 6th scientific and international seminar of Arbaeen Pilgrimage is “Arbaeen; perseverance on the path, the sign of identity”.
The ceremony was attended by many Shiite and Sunni scholars, presidents of Iraqi universities, scholars and writers, administrative and military officials, tribal sheikhs, managers of scientific-research institutions, and a group of educated women.
Mr. Hassan Khakarand as the representative of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly and Hojat al-Islam Hosseini Aref as the representative of the Ashura International Foundation participated in this scientific and religious seminar.
Session on “Arbaeen Pilgrimage in facing the challenges of soft war”
After the speeches of five officials of the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.) and the presidents of several Iraqi universities, as well as the reading of poetry by one of the country’s academic figures, a session was held as the last program of the opening ceremony.
The topic of the session was “Arbaeen Pilgrimage in facing the challenges of soft war”.
The presenters of the session were Dr. Elias Halim Al-Hashem from Lebanon, and Dr. Anwar Al-Haidari from Iraq. Dr. Hayat Afif Al-Rahavi from Lebanon was the secretary of this session.
Mentioning social aspects of the Arbaeen pilgrimage as an introduction, Ms. Al-Rahavi stated, “This pilgrimage is one of the most important factors that connects religion and society, and now it has reached a level of growth that has become the largest global gathering.”
“This pilgrimage has strategic goals and results such as social unity and deepening people’s beliefs,” she continued.
“Today, with their cultural invasion, enemies seek to control people’s thoughts and change their culture in line with their goals, and creating sectarian conflicts is one of these hostile objectives,” the university professor said, mentioning the soft war of the Arrogant Front against the Islamic world.
“This cultural invasion, also known as soft war, is the topic of our today’s session. In this session, it will be studied how to deal with this invasion by using Arbaeen culture,” Ms. Rahavi added.
Islamic Republic of Iran found out soft war, adhered to AhlulBayt (a.s.) values
In response to the question of the secretary of the session, pointing out the meaning of the term “war”, Dr. Elias Halim Al-Hashem stated, “Synonyms of “war” are words like “conflict”, “battle”, “dispute” and the like, all of which are opposites of “peace” and “friendship”.”
“In contrast to the mentioned terms, Arbaeen pilgrimage is all about peace and affection. This pilgrimage is the field of love,” the Lebanese thinker continued.
“This pilgrimage is the unity of people to be with the right side. It is also a fight against the carnal ego. In the way that thousands of people walk to the shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.) on foot and endure many hardships on this way,” he said, pointing out the personal and social dimensions of Arbaeen pilgrimage.
Then, giving examples of the enemy’s soft war, Dr. Al-Hashem stressed, “We reject ‘uncontrolled freedom’, we reject the freedom of the child from the control and upbringing of the parents, we reject phenomena like homosexuality.”
“We are the children of science, we are the pioneers of civilization, we were the ones who gave you science. But you made advanced weapons using your science and slaughtered us in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Iraq because of our beliefs. Now in soft war also you want to kill our beliefs, and with satellite channels and internet websites you want to corrupt our morals,” the Muslim thinker said, addressing the West.
The professor at Lebanese universities, while referring to the continuous struggle of the Islamic Republic of Iran against the cultural invasion of the West, added, “As Imam Khamenei stated, soft war means war with cultural warfare, by lies, by spreading rumors to create doubt in people’s hearts and minds.”
“Iran found out soft war and confronted it. Therefore, today, in addition to scientific progress and reaching the peaceful nuclear knowledge, the Islamic Republic also protects human values and the values of the AhlulBayt (a.s.),” Al-Hashem continued
About the influence of the Western cultural invasion in the different spheres of human life, the Lebanese thinker stated, “Now the enemy is fighting us with soft warfare, in our mosques, churches, schools, classrooms and in homes. What do we have to fight this war?”
“It is Arbaeen culture that helps us in this cultural invasion and in this soft war,” he said, in response to this question.
“It is the Arbaeen culture that teaches our children to serve guests; it is the culture that teaches us to spread carpets for pilgrims from different nationalities and to serve all people. With its infinite love and infinite compassion Arbaeen culture confronts the soft war of enemies,” Dr. Al-Hashem added.
Further, pointing out the censorship of Arbaeen Pilgrimage news by Western media outlets, he stated, “Because of the fear of the power of Arbaeen culture, they prevent its news from reaching others. Arrogance front opposes the truth reaching people and prevents it. For instance, Lebanon’s “Al-Manar” channel has been banned on satellites so that the voice of truth does not reach anyone in this soft media war.”
At the end of this part of the session, Dr. Elias Halim Al-Hashem emphasized, “In order to succeed in the soft war, we must return to our nature, to our civilization, and to our values.”
Karbala is the system of values and Arbaeen belongs to the whole world
Dr. Anwar Al-Haydari from Iraq was another thinker who participated in the session of the “Arbaeen Pilgrimage in facing the challenges of soft war”.
Dr. Al-Haydari examined the soft war of the enemies against the Islamic world from another point of view and considered the creation of sectarian and ethnic disputes as the result of this war.
“Britain created divisions among the ethnic groups in all the regions it colonized. They carried out this policy in Iraq as well, and the division between Iraqi tribes and parties, which began during the Ottoman occupation, continued during the British occupation. Then it was the turn of the Americans to continue this policy during the occupation of Iraq,” he added.
“The culture of Arbaeen and Karbala is the opposite of those divisive actions, and against that divisive thought, there is the value system of Karbala,” the Iraqi university professor clarified.
Explaining this system, al-Haydari said, “Is Karbala just a city? Or is it a geographical place that is located in a certain area with a certain amount of area? No, Karbala is a value system that every believer, from any nationality, from any race, from any place on the planet and at any time belongs to it.”
“In some of documents remained from the time of the occupation of Iraq and in the Turkish and English literature of that time, a certain identity mentioned as “Karbalai identity”. That is, the identity that has been unifying people and believers,” he continued.
“Arbaeen pilgrimage is a clear example of the value system of Karbala and the universal identity of Karbala,” the Iraqi university professor added, “Of course, this pilgrimage needs to be managed and regulated. Imam Ali (a.s.) said in his will: “I advise you to have divine piety and order in your work”. While the number of Arbaeen pilgrims is increasing every year, it is necessary that its order is also be increased and got better year by year.”
The conference programs continued in day two
The mentioned session was the last program of the opening ceremony of the 6th International Scientific Seminar of Arbaeen Pilgrimage.
The commissions of the seminar were held in the afternoon and evening of September 23, and the morning of September 24. Then the closing ceremony was held in the afternoon of the second day at Al-Safva College in Karbala.
In addition to these face-to-face programs, several virtual sessions were also held within the framework of this seminar.
A series of international scientific seminars on Arbaeen Pilgrimage
Every year, the call for scientific and international seminar of Arbaeen Pilgrimage is announced by the Karbala Center for Study and Research at Iraqi universities, as well as scientific societies abroad, and it is held in Karbala before Arbaeen Day.
But this year, due to some incidents in Iraq, it was not feasible to hold the 6th seminar before Arbaeen Day. Therefore, the seminar started on Friday 24, September, six days after the anniversary of the Arbaeen of Imam Hussain (a.s.).
It is worth mentioning that the Karbala Center for Study and Research is the research branch of the Office of Imam Hussain (a.s.) Holy Shrine, and has extensive activities in scientific, research, publishing and cultural fields. /345/
The 6th International Scientific Seminar of Arbaeen Pilgrimage was held by the Karbala Center for Studies and Research, with the cooperation of Iraqi institutions and universities on September 23 and 24, 2022 in Karbala.
The 6th International Arbaeen Pilgrimage Scientific Seminar was started by the Karbala Center for Studies and Research in cooperation with Iraqi institutions and universities.
The opening ceremony of the Seminar was held on the Friday morning, September 23, 2022, in the Khatam al-Anbiya Hall of the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussein (a.s.) in Karbala.
The theme of the 6th scientific and international seminar of Arbaeen Pilgrimage is “Arbaeen; perseverance on the path, the sign of identity”.
The ceremony was attended by many Shiite and Sunni scholars, presidents of Iraqi universities, scholars and writers, administrative and military officials, tribal sheikhs, managers of scientific-research institutions, and a group of educated women.
Mr. Hassan Khakarand as the representative of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly and Hojat al-Islam Hosseini Aref as the representative of the Ashura International Foundation participated in this scientific and religious seminar.
Session on “Arbaeen Pilgrimage in facing the challenges of soft war”
After the speeches of five officials of the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.) and the presidents of several Iraqi universities, as well as the reading of poetry by one of the country’s academic figures, a session was held as the last program of the opening ceremony.
The topic of the session was “Arbaeen Pilgrimage in facing the challenges of soft war”.
The presenters of the session were Dr. Elias Halim Al-Hashem from Lebanon, and Dr. Anwar Al-Haidari from Iraq. Dr. Hayat Afif Al-Rahavi from Lebanon was the secretary of this session.
Mentioning social aspects of the Arbaeen pilgrimage as an introduction, Ms. Al-Rahavi stated, “This pilgrimage is one of the most important factors that connects religion and society, and now it has reached a level of growth that has become the largest global gathering.”
“This pilgrimage has strategic goals and results such as social unity and deepening people’s beliefs,” she continued.
“Today, with their cultural invasion, enemies seek to control people’s thoughts and change their culture in line with their goals, and creating sectarian conflicts is one of these hostile objectives,” the university professor said, mentioning the soft war of the Arrogant Front against the Islamic world.
“This cultural invasion, also known as soft war, is the topic of our today’s session. In this session, it will be studied how to deal with this invasion by using Arbaeen culture,” Ms. Rahavi added.
Islamic Republic of Iran found out soft war, adhered to AhlulBayt (a.s.) values
In response to the question of the secretary of the session, pointing out the meaning of the term “war”, Dr. Elias Halim Al-Hashem stated, “Synonyms of “war” are words like “conflict”, “battle”, “dispute” and the like, all of which are opposites of “peace” and “friendship”.”
“In contrast to the mentioned terms, Arbaeen pilgrimage is all about peace and affection. This pilgrimage is the field of love,” the Lebanese thinker continued.
“This pilgrimage is the unity of people to be with the right side. It is also a fight against the carnal ego. In the way that thousands of people walk to the shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.) on foot and endure many hardships on this way,” he said, pointing out the personal and social dimensions of Arbaeen pilgrimage.
Then, giving examples of the enemy’s soft war, Dr. Al-Hashem stressed, “We reject ‘uncontrolled freedom’, we reject the freedom of the child from the control and upbringing of the parents, we reject phenomena like homosexuality.”
“We are the children of science, we are the pioneers of civilization, we were the ones who gave you science. But you made advanced weapons using your science and slaughtered us in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Iraq because of our beliefs. Now in soft war also you want to kill our beliefs, and with satellite channels and internet websites you want to corrupt our morals,” the Muslim thinker said, addressing the West.
The professor at Lebanese universities, while referring to the continuous struggle of the Islamic Republic of Iran against the cultural invasion of the West, added, “As Imam Khamenei stated, soft war means war with cultural warfare, by lies, by spreading rumors to create doubt in people’s hearts and minds.”
“Iran found out soft war and confronted it. Therefore, today, in addition to scientific progress and reaching the peaceful nuclear knowledge, the Islamic Republic also protects human values and the values of the AhlulBayt (a.s.),” Al-Hashem continued
About the influence of the Western cultural invasion in the different spheres of human life, the Lebanese thinker stated, “Now the enemy is fighting us with soft warfare, in our mosques, churches, schools, classrooms and in homes. What do we have to fight this war?”
“It is Arbaeen culture that helps us in this cultural invasion and in this soft war,” he said, in response to this question.
“It is the Arbaeen culture that teaches our children to serve guests; it is the culture that teaches us to spread carpets for pilgrims from different nationalities and to serve all people. With its infinite love and infinite compassion Arbaeen culture confronts the soft war of enemies,” Dr. Al-Hashem added.
Further, pointing out the censorship of Arbaeen Pilgrimage news by Western media outlets, he stated, “Because of the fear of the power of Arbaeen culture, they prevent its news from reaching others. Arrogance front opposes the truth reaching people and prevents it. For instance, Lebanon’s “Al-Manar” channel has been banned on satellites so that the voice of truth does not reach anyone in this soft media war.”
At the end of this part of the session, Dr. Elias Halim Al-Hashem emphasized, “In order to succeed in the soft war, we must return to our nature, to our civilization, and to our values.”
Karbala is the system of values and Arbaeen belongs to the whole world
Dr. Anwar Al-Haydari from Iraq was another thinker who participated in the session of the “Arbaeen Pilgrimage in facing the challenges of soft war”.
Dr. Al-Haydari examined the soft war of the enemies against the Islamic world from another point of view and considered the creation of sectarian and ethnic disputes as the result of this war.
“Britain created divisions among the ethnic groups in all the regions it colonized. They carried out this policy in Iraq as well, and the division between Iraqi tribes and parties, which began during the Ottoman occupation, continued during the British occupation. Then it was the turn of the Americans to continue this policy during the occupation of Iraq,” he added.
“The culture of Arbaeen and Karbala is the opposite of those divisive actions, and against that divisive thought, there is the value system of Karbala,” the Iraqi university professor clarified.
Explaining this system, al-Haydari said, “Is Karbala just a city? Or is it a geographical place that is located in a certain area with a certain amount of area? No, Karbala is a value system that every believer, from any nationality, from any race, from any place on the planet and at any time belongs to it.”
“In some of documents remained from the time of the occupation of Iraq and in the Turkish and English literature of that time, a certain identity mentioned as “Karbalai identity”. That is, the identity that has been unifying people and believers,” he continued.
“Arbaeen pilgrimage is a clear example of the value system of Karbala and the universal identity of Karbala,” the Iraqi university professor added, “Of course, this pilgrimage needs to be managed and regulated. Imam Ali (a.s.) said in his will: “I advise you to have divine piety and order in your work”. While the number of Arbaeen pilgrims is increasing every year, it is necessary that its order is also be increased and got better year by year.”
The conference programs continued in day two
The mentioned session was the last program of the opening ceremony of the 6th International Scientific Seminar of Arbaeen Pilgrimage.
The commissions of the seminar were held in the afternoon and evening of September 23, and the morning of September 24. Then the closing ceremony was held in the afternoon of the second day at Al-Safva College in Karbala.
In addition to these face-to-face programs, several virtual sessions were also held within the framework of this seminar.
A series of international scientific seminars on Arbaeen Pilgrimage
Every year, the call for scientific and international seminar of Arbaeen Pilgrimage is announced by the Karbala Center for Study and Research at Iraqi universities, as well as scientific societies abroad, and it is held in Karbala before Arbaeen Day.
But this year, due to some incidents in Iraq, it was not feasible to hold the 6th seminar before Arbaeen Day. Therefore, the seminar started on Friday 24, September, six days after the anniversary of the Arbaeen of Imam Hussain (a.s.).
It is worth mentioning that the Karbala Center for Study and Research is the research branch of the Office of Imam Hussain (a.s.) Holy Shrine, and has extensive activities in scientific, research, publishing and cultural fields. /345/